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Portland's involvement with the Joint Terrorism Task Force has been controversial from the beginning. Protestors rallied before a 2001 City Council vote to renew the arrangement.
(Motoya Nakamura/The Oregonian)

1997: Portland joins the local Joint Terrorism Task Force, which initially focused on investigating and preventing criminal threats to the Nike World Masters Games.

2000: City Council members formalized the relationship with federal anti-terrorism efforts, despite concerns among some activist groups -- including the League of Women Voters, the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon, the Portland chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Portland Copwatch and the National Lawyers Guild -- about the potential for civil rights violations.

Opponents of the JTTF packed City Council chambers in 2001. The Oregonian/File

2001: In the wake of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, the City Council renews the JTTF agreement. The only no vote is Commissioner Charlie Hales: "I'm concerned the Joint Terrorism Task Force is one more case of specialized assignments dealing with the threat of the month, rather than dealing with the consistent issue of community policing," Hales said. "Are we still in the business of community policing?"

2003: City leaders agree to stay in the JTTF, but also joined more than 200 communities nationwide in passing a resolution criticizing the USA Patriot Act. "We cannot compromise on freedoms in the name of fighting terrorism," said Commissioner Dan Saltzman, who sponsored the resolution on the Patriot Act. "There's a growing climate of fear undermining our national resolve."

2004: Former police chief Tom Potter is elected mayor, and says he wants security clearance from the U.S. Justice Department to review Portland's participation in the JTTF before deciding whether to support reauthorizing the arrangement.

Mayor Tom Potter pulled out of the JTTF in 2005 over the objection of police Chief Derrick Foxworth. The Oregonian/File

2005: After negotiations with federal officials fail to satisfy their worries, City Council members vote 4-1 to remove Portland officers from the JTTF. "When we look at our history, we see examples that when we blindly give people power, that sometimes the power is misused," Potter said. " I don't think whether we stay in or out of the JTTF will determine the safety of Portland citizens. I think what will determine the safety of Portland citizens is when we work together, when we watch out for each and care for each other, that our society is safer."

2010: The arrest of 19-year-old Mohamed Osman Mohamud on charges of trying to detonate a bomb in Pioneer Courthouse Square prompts Saltzman to call for Portland’s immediate return to the task force.

2011: Mayor Sam Adams and the City Council vote unanimously to police involvement on an "as-needed basis."